Sprint’s Kyocera Echo hands-on! [video]

We stopped by Kyocera’s CTIA booth to get a second tour of the dual-screen Echo from Sprint. The device, which will be available on April 17th for $199.99 with a 2-year agreement, really does have some innovative features. Applications and games that are optimized for the echo can leverage the second screen to display an enormous, thumb-friendly keyboard, provide more on-screen information, and enhance game-play. Kyocera assured us that the hinge on the device is ready for battle, and should stand up to most of the use and abuse inflicted by teens and tweens — the two main groups the phone will be marketed towards. The hinge itself was a bit finicky when we handled the device, however. Hit the break for more, including a video, and don’t forget to check out our Kyocera Echo photo gallery.

The phone is designed to be used in three positions: closed, which gives the device one usable screen, candybar layout; opened, which is what you see above; and tilted, which allows the use of both screens with one screen tilted towards you — similar to the HTC Arrive. When in the opened and tilted positions, you can shake the phone and feel a fair amount of play in the hinge. We’re not exactly sure how an OEM would make a hinge capable of doing all the things the Echo does without a little wiggle, but it is definitely something discerning customers will notice. The phone is — without a doubt — a first, and while the Echo is a Sprint exclusive, Kyocera says it is the first in a line of dual-screen phones that it plans on producing.

Did Sprint say if they had plans to upgrade it from 1.6 anytime soon? Ohh, the hardware won’t handle it, I forgot…

Anonymous

its on 2.2

Poopsie_4

I know, its called sarcasm….

SteveJobsAppleFan

That’s the problem with Droid ! You don’t know if you have Droid 2.1.3.5.1 or Droid 5.2.1.9.2 ! Nothing runs From Droid App Market because everybody has different verisons !

Plus, Droid users are CHEAP ! I read an interview with ROVIO they said that NOBODY on Droid App Market buys anything becuase they are all CHEAP nerds living in MOM’S basement !

Apple App Store is great… making developers rich… Just like Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, you have great idea, you program in garage, you put on App Store, you get rich ! That don’t happen on Droid ! I guess you could say DROID DON’T !

Plus, I read in Wall Street Times that Google is having financial difficulty ! I predict they will go out of business in a year and DROID will have killed them ! They are okay at search engines but YOU MESS WITH THE BULL, YOU GET THE HORNS !!!!!!!!! They mess with Apple, now Steve Jobs puts them in retirement home !

iPhone rules ! Droid Doesn’t !

http://www.droiddoes.com/ Norm

You are retardedly bad at trolling.

Garstriduf

Dude, how old are you? Do you work for Apple to write a whole bunch of nonsense just to point out that you love Apple? Who cares about Apple, Google or Windows? Buy what you like and stop advertising for multi billion dollar corporation who really do not give a rats a** about you.

http://twitter.com/_MoMoSt Chancellor MoMoSt

are you talking about the droid lines of phones? or all android phones? you can’t even troll..cunt

SteveJobsAppleFan

It’s not trolling if it’s the truth! Apple products are for smarter people who prefer a better class of computing! Sorry, but DROID doesn’t.

MR.POPO

YOU DUMB CUNT

Anonymous

Wall Street Times? Is this a new newspaper?

Anonymous

Looks good, not for me definitely; but I’m sure many people especially gamers will like it

SteveJobsAppleFan

This thing is a piece of shit !

Apple would never design anything like this !

These phony Android manufacturers can rip off Apple anymore so they have to start ripping off Nintendo !

They should stick to ripping off Apple – Poor people need phones too ! I think Droid phones are great for poors who need to save their money for food and need a $50 phone and can’t get an iPhone yet.

Of course, they’ll never be able to match iOS. iOS is based on Mac OS X which is based on Mac OS which has 30 years of software development. Droid is based on Linux which is very new and poorly invented by some Swedish nerd !

DROID DOESN’T !!!!!!1

Anonymous

Sooooo if a phone looks like the iphone…..its a piece of shit lookalike…..
if it DOESNT look like the iphone…..its a piece of shit that apple would never make…..

Silly fanbois /sigh, you can never win against them. Thats why i quit caring. Have fun being close minded to competition.

ps, you DO know that if apple was the ONLY company making a smart phone, they could charge whatever they wanted for it….$500 on a carrier perhaps. Competition drives the prices down.

SteveJobsAppleFan

I don’t mind paying a lot for Apple products! They are very good and worth the money!

I am not some cheap DROID nerd who won’t buy anything on Droid Marketplace.

Apple only makes one phone a year. That is the way to do it. Everybody knows which is the best.

There are 1000 DROID phones every day and nobody can tell which is best. There is some running Droid 1.2.3.4.5.1 and some running Droid 2.4.51.1! Which is best, nobody knows. Plus, have you seen some of these big Droid phones? They are the size of a calculator! They are like 4, 5, 6 inches! Nobody needs a phone that big unless you have a small penis! Apple has the 3.5-inch iPhone which is big enough for everything unless you need bigger, then you go to iPad.

iOS 4.3 is the most advanced mobile operating system and Apple has NO fragmentation. All iPad, iPhone, iTouch, they all running this. Developers get rich, users get happy, Sir Steve Jobs smiling… it all good.

Google should stick to search engines! They mess find out that DROID don’t.

http://www.droiddoes.com/ Norm

The first gen iPhone doesn’t even have 4.0 yet. That truly is fragmentation. Go away troll. Try using reality and facts. DROID is number one in the mobile market and you just need to accept it.

Anonymous

Answer me this then….if NO ONE needs a big screen….then why do i have a few coworkers with phones with big screens….like the evo, incredible, etc who tell me how much they love them?

Not EVERYONE wants the same phone. I really don’t understand why people think they do. Choices are good. Welcome to capitalism. Obviously you haven’t been in the real world or worked for any company yet. You’ll learn someday….

But for now, keep talking. People will still buy non-apple phones.

OH and ps….I LOVE apple products…..but the main thing that turns me off to actually getting their products is their EVERYTHING APPLE community…..like you.

Douche

Dude you can’t even argue that Apple is more fragemented than Android. That’s just plain stupid.

Serge7789

LMAO I read your comment then I said to myself, wow I cant believe these apple fan boys, then I read your name, Hilarity ensued… But seriously get a hold of yourself Apple isnt the end all be all of tech, why dont you try to make a relevant comment about the actual phone itself, and not promote apple.

Now onto the phone, I like the concept of the dual screens. I love productivity on a phone or any device for that matter, and without 2 screens I just don’t see productivity a relevant factor in current gen phones. If there going to release more of these phones I’d personally get a dual core phone for the amount of processing this thing is doing.

Anonymous

Troll is troll

SteveJobsAppleFan

Not a troll – just an Apple fan with all the facts!

I challenge Goofan and Norm_4G_LTE to a debate about which is better, iPhone or Droid.

I don’t have to worry, I have all the facts about why iPhone is best, Droid is a fragmented piece of crap that popular on cheap phones just because it’s free.

Anonymous

A fanboy troll, the worst kind.

nyynke

You mean Apply, the company for lemmings

Wordord

Linux was invented by a Finnish nerd, not a Swedish nerd. Get your facts stragiht, please.

Shanghai Dan

I like it… I can see some real advantages to this type of layout and flexibility. Having one screen as a keyboard (versus losing half your screen for a scrunched keyboard), or one for watching a movie while the other shows your calendar, clock, RSS feeds, or even for DS-like games.

Anonymous

No.

Anonymous

I can’t wait! This is another iPhone killer. Can’t wait to see Apple in bankruptcy, like the majority of my fellow Goofans (aka Apple Haters) on this site. We wish for that day with so much anticipation. I have started a list of what we will do in our basements after that happens, so that we don’t get bored for too long.

SteveJobsAppleFan

Sorry GooTARD, but it is GOOGLE that is in trouble. I read Wall Street Journal. They have iPad app, but don’t have DROID app because Droid fans are CHEAP and don’t pay for anything on Droid App Store.

Anyway, they say that Google is in trouble because DROID doesn’t make money. Turns out it isn’t a good idea to give away your #1 product for free! DROID DOESN’T make money for Google! And to think that people get their panties in a bunch for Apple charging so much for their products!

Droid doesn’t!

SteveJobsAppleFan is a moron.

You sir are a moron.

SteveJobsAppleFan

If I’m a moron, then why I am the one using an iMac, an iPod classic, an iPod Touch, an iPhone and an iPad?

If you were smarter, you’d be using Apple products not DROID products.

Sorry, Droid doesn’t for smart people!

Mr. Leo

I don’t get why somebody will waste time of their existence hating a brand. I think this is more about childhood issues. Get some counseling.

VERIZONIPHONE1234

wow you seriously do no know your shit, i own an iphone, great phone but apple needs to step their shit up in the phone world and add flash for one thing, why would i pay for an internet phone if i cannot view many of my webpages, just accept that the iphone has some competition

SteveJobsAppleFan is a moron.

Hmm… I thought Apple Fanboys were supposed to be smart… Why do you need an iPod Touch and an iPhone? iPad? Why don’t you have the iPad 2? Couldn’t afford it because you have one to many iPods?

Also based on your logic, it is completely valid to use the same point repeatedly to fuel your argument? So based on your logic, you sir are a moron with absolutely no class and no education.

http://twitter.com/_MoMoSt Chancellor MoMoSt

I wouldn’t buy this phone, but, i’d take it for free. lol.

Anonymous

who want’s a brick in their pocket anymore?
we waited for years for thinner phones.
if you want a bigger screen dell streak makes a lot more sense
it’s a novelty.
i can’t imagine significant sales
just another case of goofy brains at Sprint
when the hell will they learn?

Anonymous

man, so bad that is CDMA….i want this phone, i don’t care if it’s big, but it will serve me a LOT!

Anonymous

I have to admit that when I first saw this this I thought it would suck majorly but after playing with it for a day I seriously like this device…. Sure it’s no evo but it’s not ment to be…

Charlie sheen

that phone is BI-WINNING!!!!!

Mr. Leo

Great idea. I like the fact that Sprint is stepping it up with the EVO and this phone. Everybody else just keep copying whatever Apple does. It was about time that somebody proposed something new.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=630277476 Jay Lewis

If someone else made this and it was dual core I would want it.

http://twitter.com/iMarky_Marc Marc Jarvis

They should have just marketed this a the nintendo ds phone…it might sell more

http://twitter.com/Sweetrobbo Robby andrews

I just don’t trust the look of this phone personally. I think the EVO line is a bit more promising, HTC seems to have better manufacturing than Kyocera.

Why would you praise an electronic brand like a religion?

Anonymous

Need to put some SAMOLEDs in that thing. I really like the concept, and the execution is much better than I thought it would be… still not going to pull me away from the EVO line… but they could get there.

DocB

The salesman didn’t sound too sure of his product. haha

Carlton Flowers

This is something I’d love to see Apple develop.

Anonymous

It is a pretty cool idea, even if it falls down in the implementation. Still, phone seems pretty snappy.

http://twitter.com/kstagg Kevin Stagg

When this first came out, I was just shaking my head wondering if the Sprint and Kyocera Executives had way too many liquid lunches. But upon watching this video, I’m pleasantly surprised. They seemed to have polished things up a bit.

As far as the audience? I’m not sure that the typical EVO owner like myself will downgrade to this. It might be more popular than we think, especially with the EVO 3D coming out, or even with the original EVO still out.
But the mail app was pretty smooth, as was the gallery. I’m wondering what the music player would look like in there – that could show some promise as well. Throw in the right media player and they could have a hit with the younger crowd.

Josiah

There are actually some pretty cool features here. If it actually had 4G (and why doesn’t it?), I would be considering it. Will wait for the second-gen 4G model.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=25001493 Hank Godwin

When I first heard about this phone, I thought it was extremely gimmicky. Now though, I have to admit, that was pretty impressive. Kudos Kyocera & Sprint.

http://twitter.com/chrismanning Chris Manning

Like many other (on topic) comments made, I thought this was going to be a joke, but after seeing some of the implementation, I am impressed. It’s a good concept with some promise. I don’t think it’s for everyone (nothing ever is, except maybe water and oxygen), but it could definitely sell a good number of devices and establish Kyocera as a minor player in the smartphone business.

P.S. A big thumbs up and +1 to everyone that provided an on topic comment. So much stupid fanboyism that I wanted to pull my hair out.

droidboy

The one thing keeping this from being a gigantic success? No 4G. I really like the outside of the box thinking, and the way they polished it rather well. Also, one thing I would like to see? Dedicated search home row button (I use mine all the time…) Also, I wish manufacturers would move away from capacitive, and on to physical buttons… But that’s just me and hating not knowing if I’ve actually hit something (yes, I know it vibrates on press, but I like feeling the damn click)